Do you have time to hear a few secrets? Nothing too juicy, just things I've kept under wraps awhile. Okay. Let me just tell you a couple of other things too.

It's March. We're going to have some snow here and there, even that nasty "wintry mix" stuff, but, but, but - Spring arrives this month. Daylight Savings Time too. I'll plant pansies in the flower boxes. I'm completely giddy over all of this. We've been up here in the arctic, it's been stinking cold since November, and that 'charming' snow that Christmas scenes are made of - we've had quite our fill of it. Just seeing Miss March's face on our fridge has me grinning from ear to ear. When it hits 50 degrees around here, you'll see convertibles going topless, bare white feet poking out of slings, and cars being washed in the driveways along our street. Spring - one of my three favorite seasons...

While my sister, Barb ushers in Spring by cleaning every inch of her humble abode, I tend to give it a lick and a promise, and move on. Instead, I tear into my life, working myself into a fun frenzy, just thinking about all the Projects, Plans I can tackle.

It's time to update my sidebar. I've listed 15 projects. Some are leftovers from January. Here's what DID NOT get done, the first go 'round.

"Lose 5 lbs". I'm telling myself, after 3 months of gym time, that muscle weighs more than fat. Sshhh. I'm telling myself that. Instead of two loaves of raw bread dough sitting right in my middle, there's now one. Better, but not great. However, I will be wearing two-piece swimsuits on our upcoming cruise. I don't expect to run into anyone I'll ever see again. If they go home telling stories about one very pale lady wearing a swimsuit with a glob of raw bread dough on her belly, I can live with that. If my photo shows up on someone's website, it's not me. Mistaken identity. I'm the other, tan lady, off to the left, sporting the six pack.

"Clean the windows". I need two things: ammonia and professional help. I'm purchasing both. Twenty-two old windows, that don't swing in, some on the second floor, over unlevel ground, and would just snap your little fingers off to the bone if you dropped them. Cleaning them is a challenge. So I'm tackling the ground floor, inside, and hiring out the rest. Well spent $120.00. I won't think about all the fun things we could spend that money on instead. Right now, I'd enjoy seeing my neighbors across the road again. They've been gritty looking for so long, I might not recognize them in the grocery line if they'd recently showered and shaved.

(Secret #1) "Finish the stitchery". When this is posted, it will be safe to tell you what it is. I've been working on this cross-stitched sampler, "Proverbs 31 Woman" for at least 8 years. It was intended for MY kitchen. My oldest daughter, Sarah, turned 31 two weeks ago. I realized, a year ago, it was the perfect birthday gift. It's almost done. I've decided to let her pick the thread color that goes all around it. When I began it that lovely country blue was all hip. Now, not so much. She and her entire family arrive tomorrow morning. I plan to give it to her, unfinished, tomorrow night. Complete with Dairy Queen birthday cake. After she picks the thread color, I'll stitch like crazy for the next 6 days and then we'll go to the framers. She can choose the matting, frame, etc. Then I'll ship it to her, insured for a gazillion dollars since I'd drop dead of stroke if it got lost in the mail. After working on this for years, I could care less what it costs to finish and ship it. We're talking about my legacy, girls.

"Read 2 fiction, 2 non-fiction". True to my character, I read 3 non-fiction and 1 fiction. I have two fiction sitting by my pillow and plan to start them. I'm just more drawn to non-fiction. "Hello, my name is Bev. I struggle with balance."

(Secret #2) "Paint the master bedroom and bath". I try to be real with all of you, so I'm letting the cat out of the bag here. My husband and I have Separate Bedrooms. One of us snores consistently. The other now and then. The sound of that snoring is a bit more charming with a little drywall between us. We went through a period, over several years, of one of us wandering the house at night, looking for a quiet place to sleep. Finally, we did this the last year our son was home. It caused a family meeting - "No, we weren't getting a divorce, no we weren't having problems, yes we still liked each other. No earplugs don't help, enough." The last year with someone in the nest took creativity to keep "romance" alive. (I'm telling you this here, because you'd be amazed how many people just flat out asked us about this. It seemed to intrigue them.) There were moments we felt like two teenagers, in the backseat of the car, on lover's lane. In spite of our age, we could still move quickly when necessary. We now have "open visitation". I still miss the smell of him sleeping at night. I still miss waking up in the night, and hearing that other human I love more than life itself, sleeping on the pillow next to me. I still miss lying there, talking late into the night, where one of your voices trails off, and you realize how precious it is to share drifting off into sleep together. We just sleep, much better, apart. When we travel, we share a bed, one wears earplugs, and we enjoy the brief respite from our regular pattern. Maybe someday when we're old and frail, we'll lose our hearing enough that we can share a room again. In the meantime - my bedroom is a lovely robin's egg blue with gold stripes, all white furniture and a puffy down comforter. His is a pukey hotel rose, with maroon and dark green bedding. It's more "mastery". I didn't get it painted, a nice linen color, because he didn't travel much these past two months. He wasn't crazy about sleeping in the midst of drop cloths and paint pans. Soon as he hits the road, I'm all over it. Painting his room, because he's the Master of the house. Me? I'm his Mistress, just down the hall.

So my new, updated projects and plans are posted on my sidebar. I'm itching to get busy. Within hours we have five of our favorite people in the world landing on the runway at Pittsburgh International Airport (Secret #3 - that is, generally speaking, where I live. I'm confident nobody is going to steal me.) I'm OUTTAHERE for the next 6 days because we've got a lot of living to do. All five bedrooms will be full. So will the fridge, the diaper pail and the washer. Chris, Sarah and Addison have an overnight jaunt to NYC planned, so Grammy gets to be in charge of Caiden and Grayson for a bit. (Oh, do you hear the rules flying out the windows!) I'll be back next week, with all sorts of fun stories of a life so full, it spilled over and made a beautiful mess.

I've been blogging for almost a year now, so it seemed time to 'fess up on a few things. If you do decide to come steal me, a few tips: A. I'd suggest you wait til at least mid-April. The Groundhog could be wrong for heaven's sake. B. Please take me somewhere sunny. C. I'm accustomed to having my own pretty space.

Labels: Girl Talk